


A Hunter's Gambit

by hirusen



Series: Liam Deklon: Assassin Of The Light [1]
Category: Destiny (Video Games)
Genre: Canonical Character Death, Cayde-6 And Guardian Are Engaged, Cayde-6 And The Drifter Talk, Cayde-6 Being Cayde-6 (Destiny), Crying, Developing Friendships, Developing Relationship, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, Established Relationship, Fist Fights, Friends to Lovers, Friendship/Love, Gambit (Destiny), Gambit Match Gone Wrong, Gen, Grief/Mourning, Guardian Supers, Holding Hands, Hugs, Language, M/M, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Post-Forsaken (Desinty), Protectiveness, Rage, Rough Kissing, Survivor Guilt, Tags Are Hard, The Drifter Slowly Gets Close To Guardian, The Tower (Destiny)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-11-13
Updated: 2018-11-20
Packaged: 2019-08-23 06:09:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 8,369
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16613399
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/hirusen/pseuds/hirusen
Summary: Cayde-6, having recieved word that a former partner was coming back to the Tower, meets up with them to make an insurance plan for a certain Guardian.





	1. Cayde's Gambit

**Author's Note:**

> Okay, so I've been dreaming about the Drifter a lot lately and in them he's always comforting me for the loss of my lover Cayde-6, so...whatelse was I suppose to do?

Night had fallen over the Tower and most people were deep into sleep, only the few people who worked night-shifts were awake now. Which Cayde-6 was fine with, the fewer the eyes, the better. He glanced to his left one last time, smiling to himself as he stroked the short, black hair of his boyfriend, a Guardian who's made it their talent to do the impossible. Cayde climbed out of bed and silently left the room, heading to the agreed meeting place.

"Ah, a dark, shady corridor. Yeah, this isn't suspicious at all, buddy." There was a deep chuckle behind him before, "Sorry, but you know I'm not too fond of being exposed." Cayde turned then, spotting the man he hadn't seen in a lot of years. "Your hair's shorter." "I'm all for banter, but you called me out here for a reason, didn't you?" The man with short black hair, brown almond shaped eyes, a couple of scars on his cheeks that's hidden beneath a thick but groomed beard, and an earthy pallet tone with a few splotches of red in places questioned as he leaned against one of the walls trapping the two men in the corridor.

"I did." "What about?" "...My lover." The man's eyes widen for a moment as a smirk pulled onto his lips naturally. "Oho! So, you've finally decided to settle down?" Cayde glances to the silver band that rests on his gloved left ring finger. "You can say that." "So what? You want me to be the one to tie the knot between you two?" Cayde shook his head at the sarcastic comment. "Do you know what  _my_  Guardian has done?" The man shook his head, honestly not knowing.

"He's killed Atheon in the Vault of Glass." Cayde started, instantly getting the man's full attention. "He's killed Riksis, Draksis, Aksor, Paskin, Yavek, Vekis, Aksis, Vosik, Kovik, and Tankis the Scarred of the Fallen. He's killed Crota, son of Oryx, in the depths of the moon. He's hunted and killed Skolas, Skoriks, Graynor, Drevis, Pirsis, Kaliks-12, Veliniks, Peekis, Beltrik, Mecher Orbiks-11, Saviks, and Weksis when the House of Wolves broke away from Mava Sov's side.

"He's killed Kranox, Telthor, Sardok, Mormu, Phogoth, Sardon, Urzok, Omnigul, Ir Yut, Urrox, Gulrot, Alak-Hul, Golgoroth, Ir Halak, Ir Anuk, Krughor, Lokaar, Alzok Dal, Gornok Dal, Zyrok Dal, Vorlog, Balwur, and Thalnok of the Hive. He's killed Zydorn, Sekrion, Qodron, and Theosyion of the Vex.

"He's killed Bracus Tho'ourg, Bracus Tha'aurn, Primus Sha'aull, Valus Ta'aurc, Val Aru'un, Valus Trau'ug, Valus Tlu'urn, and Valus Mau'ual of the Cabal. He's killed Oryx, the Taken King. He's killed Primus Ta'aun, Baxx, Bracus Horu'usk, Mengoor, Cra'adug, Kagoor, Malok, Noru'usk, Keksis the Betrayed, and Sylok of the Taken. He's fought against the Fallen who were infected with SIVA, destroyed SIVA, and became an Iron Lord. He's survived the Prison of Elders, taken the Trails of Osiris, fought in the Iron Banner before and after he became an Iron Lord, participated during the Dawning & the Festival of the Lost, was my partner during the Crimson Days, and was at the top of the leader board in every Sparrow race he took part in.

"And this is all before the Red Legion hit and we all lost our light. When he gained it back and killed Dominus Ghaul, as the Traveler woke again and gave all of us our light back, he and I stopped hiding our relationship. And I have proudly watched as he dove into the Leviathan and fought Emperor Calus. As he faced the Trails of the Nine. As he fought once again in the Iron Banner. As he revived Sagira and dove into the Infinite Forest to both save Osiris and destroyed Panoptes. As he responded to Ana Bray's urgent message for aid on Mars, killed both Nokris and the Hive god Xol of the Thousands, and help awaken the Warmind Rasputin." "You think with all the things he's killed, we would have run out of enemies, or at the very least our enemies would have learned to leave humanity alone." The human spoke and Cayde chuckled.

"I agree, but I guess they're just as stubborn as he is." The man shifted his weight to his other foot as he leaned more against the wall and asked, "Was he close to Eris Morn?" "Ha! The only times he weren't were when I stole him away!" The two shared a laugh. "But in all seriousness, yes. When he was reborn, he had marking all over his body; Eris informed him that they were Hive markings." The other man straightened then. "What?" "Yeah. Turns out my Guardian has a knack for understanding the Fallen, Hive, and Cabal languages as well as Vex coding. As the civilians who've met him say: mind of a Warlock, strength of a Titan, instincts of a Hunter.

"Hell, it wasn't just them saying it; Zavala was, Ikora was, Shaxx was, Saladin was, Mara Sov--who he was also very close too--was, even I was. That kid has a mind and mentality that I've  **never** seen before and doubt I'll ever see again." The man took a few steps closer to Cayde. "So where do I come in in all of this? It seems he can take care of himself pretty well." "I need you to look after him because he and I will be heading to the Prison of Elders tomorrow."

What?

"Petra contacted me that something is going on in the Prison, and she's worried that it could lead to more trouble if we don't quell it quickly." "That's right. I keep forgetting you're a warden for the Prison." Cayde smirked at the comment. "I was mentioning to him that I was heading out of the Tower tomorrow and he was very insistent that he come with me." "Was he worried that you couldn't handle yourself after being stuck in the Tower for so long?" Laughter filled the corridor. "Oh no, he knows I can handle myself. No, he's wanting to come because he's been having dreams of death lately and he also has a very bad feeling about Petra and I going into the Prison without back-up."

The man nodded his head, understanding to a point why that would make someone nervous. "So why me? Why not Zavala, or that one-horned idiot?" "Because of your little operation." The man tensed up for a moment. "Don't think I'm stupid enough not to know that that's the actual reason you came back. But your game will help him out more than I think any of us realize." "...How can you be sure?" "Because of what I've been hearing from Zavala and Shaxx. While my boyfriend is still doing Strikes and hitting up the Crucible, both Zavala and Shaxx have noticed that he's getting both bored and frustrated at the same time. He's not enjoying himself anymore and that's never a good thing."

The man cocked a brow at that. "The last him he was like this, he took out Crota." "You mentioned that." "I didn't mention that he did that single-handedly." The man hissed through his teeth. "I think I understand now." "Yeah..." There was a moment of quiet between them. "Look, you were a Titan once, you're a Hunter now; you don't show it, but you do care deeply for people. You understand the need to protect something or someone while still keeping your distance. I don't know what's going to happen tomorrow, probably nothing major or bad or majorly bad." Cayde placed his hand on the man's fur covered shoulder, locking their eyes together. "But if something does go sideways and I don't make it, I need to know he can have someone to run to that's away from prying eyes."

"And I like to be away from prying eyes. ...Alright. No promises that I'll  _actually_  do more than talk to him, but I'll keep an eye out for your little boy toy." Cadye chuckled once more, giving the man's shoulder a squeeze. "Thank you, Drifter." As the Hunter Vanguard turned to leave, he glanced over his shoulder and said, "And he's not my boy toy; he's my fiance." The Drifter's eyes went wide again as Cayde lifted his left hand to wave goodbye, a silver engagement ring resting on his ring finger.


	2. A Hunter In Mourning

It's been over a month now since Cayde-6 had died at the hand of Uldren and his Barons. Most of the Tower have grieved over his loss by now and have moved on with their lives. Ikora, Zavala, Holliday, and Lord Shaxx still need time to move on from the loss of their friend.

But there was one Guardian that Drifter noticed wasn't even close to moving on from Cayde's death.

He was a Hunter (no surprises there) with short black hair, tawny skin, and bright blue eyes. He wore a mix of armor from different factions, though right now he dawned a Crucible mask and grips, vest and striders from the Prodigal set, and a cloak that was created in memory of the fallen Hunter Vanguard that he's never seen traded for any other cloak since he recieved it from Ikora after the Awoken Prince was taken care of. From the times the kid's vented some steam in Gambit, Drifter's noticed that he tends to have an auto rifle as his primary, a pulse rifle as his secondary, and either a sword or grenade launcher as his heavy; but as of returning back home two weeks ago, that loadout has changed.

For a little bit, he had been rocking a hand cannon as either his primary or secondary, but it seemed to the Drifter that he was just trying to re-familiarize himself with all the different gun types (except fusion and linear fusion rifles, he hasn't seen him touch or use one once). But now a hand cannon is  _always_ his primary, a very specific one too: the Ace of Spades. Cayde's last gift to him. To accompany it, he now had either a scout rifle or a bow as his secondary, and a rocket launcher as his heavy (though, Drifter's noticed that there's a rumor going around that a  **certain** machine gun might be reappearing, and he has a hunch the kid's already got one).

But he knows that this kid, this Hunter, was the one Cayde had told him about the night before he left. How? Because of the necklace he wears: a leather necklace that holds a silver band on it, a black spade next to a red heart.

It was the same design on the engagement ring Cayde had flashed him that night.

From the times he's taken to actually look at it, he knows there's something engraved on the inside, but he wasn't sure what it said and didn't feel like prying. Emotions are a fickle thing, and he doesn't want to be on the receiving end of the rage that comes from a Guardian who's killed three Hive gods, two of which were ended by his hand alone. "Hey there, brother. How've ya been?" Drifter greeted as the Hunter ducked under the gate, giving him a weary smile. "I'm fine. Got any new bounties?" "Daily. Help yourself." He spoke, gesturing to the table to the left of the Guardian.

From the corner of his eye, the Drifter noticed that there was some pink tinting the whites of the Hunter's eyes; he's been crying again. "Not sleeping much?" The Hunter jumped at the question, his eyes moving from the bounties he was looking at to the man offering them. "...Not as much as I'd like, why?" "Nothin'. Just noticed that you looked tired." Which wasn't a lie; the kid's got some purple coloring under his eyes from the lack of proper sleep. It's like he's still reliving that moment in the Prison every second of his life.

And for the first time since they officially met, since he's introduced him to Gambit, this Hunter's lowered his guard and sank down to the floor, the weight of all his emotions pressing against him. "...I never did tell you my name did I?" "No. But I hadn't asked for it either." The Hunter chuckled. "I'm Liam. And this is Aiden." He spoke as his Ghost shifted into view, the Kill-Tracker shell adorned on him, which makes sense given how much time Liam's spent in the Crucible. The Drifter said nothing in response, just nodded his head as he looked over Liam for the hundredth time.

Outside of the clear emotional trauma and lack of proper sleep, he sees no signs that Liam's doing anything to harm himself; he doesn't look like he hasn't been eating, doesn't look like he's been drinking heavily, no signs of binging on food either. Drifter opens his mouth to say something, but then catches the tears welling in Liam's eyes, the Hunter quickly reaching up to wipe them away. He sucked in a long, heavy breath, stood, took a couple of the bounties, and said, "See you around," before quickly ducking back under the gate and leaving.

He could hear the faint sounds of sobs as Liam ascended the stairs that lead back to the main area, and he honestly hoped the kid was seeking out that loud-mouth moron who ran the Crucible. He always seemed to know how to calm Liam down.


	3. A Warlock's Wisdom

"Liam, come here for a moment." Drifter heard Ikora speak calmly, her voice easily carrying over the din of sounds that busied the air of the bazaar. He heard as the approaching footsteps paused, the sound of boots shifting against concrete, before the footfall started to fade, Liam heading towards Ikora. "Is everything okay?" "Yeah, why?" The Warlock sighed. "I know you're lying, dear." Drifter wondered if the feeling of dread that washed over him was shared by Liam.

Ever since he gave the Drifter his name two weeks ago, he's seen the kid more often; still some purple under his eyes, but it hadn't gotten any darker and his eyes were pink less often. Perhaps all the time he's spent scaring the shit out of Drifter as he melted Primeval after Primeval with  ** _way_** too much ease for his own team to not be scared of him (even though they never are) has finally started to ease up his pent-up emotional grief; from what he's been able to hear on this side of the Tower, Liam's back doing Strikes and hitting up the Crucible again.

"Why do you think that, Ikora?" "Because you keep going into that corridor nearly every day. I'm just...concerned." Drifter bit his lip; he's asked all of the Guardians who play Gambit to keep quiet about it; he's not scared that the Vanguard or the Crucible master will chew him out about it, but he's worried that if too much attention is brought to his game AND his return, that an old...'friend'...might come knocking, and they don't exact enjoy each other's company. Liam sighed deeply. "Ikora..." "You know you can tell me what's wrong, right?"

"I know. And I will if I think or know it would be better to talk to you about it, but...me going into that corridor..." Another heavy breath. "Ikora, you know I trust you, and you know I love our friendship. It's why I go into that corridor." "I don't understand." "...Lately, I've been feeling lonely, but my grief puts me in a position where I don't feel comfortable talking to you, or Shaxx, or Zavala about what's going on in my head." "So why isolate yourself?"

"I'm not isolating myself, Ikora. I go there because I know that you're nearby. If I feel comfortable enough to talk about what I'm feeling, I know that I can just come out of that little corridor and come right to you. Being in that corridor, knowing a good, trusted friend is nearby gives me comfort, Ikora. Besides, nearly everybody in the Tower sees me as a hero of more than just the Red War; you think I want all those eyes staring at me if my emotions get the better of me?" Liam asked and Ikora let out a soft sigh.

"...I guess not. Alright. Thank you for answering my question, my dear; losing Cayde like we did is still weighing on me as well, but I think I forget the weight his death puts on you. You two did publicly announce your engagement, and everyone was very excited for the wedding. To lose your Vanguard, your friend, the love of your life, is something I've never felt before and you know you always have whatever comfort and sympathy I can offer." There was the sound of movement before Ikora chuckled, the soft rustle of fabric moving against fabric reached his ears.

"...I should be going. I just remembered that I was meeting up with my fireteam in the Dreaming City. Hoping to help Petra out with somethings, and maybe I'll get that auto rifle that's been wreaking me in Crucible." There was a musical little chuckle that the Drifter didn't know Ikora could make. "I hope you find it. Good luck and stay safe." "I will." The sound of a Guardian running back up the stairs reached his ears.

And then a different set of footsteps came towards him. He granted Ikora a wide grin as she straightened back to her full height after ducking under the gate, her eyes narrowed on him. "I don't know what kind of 'game' you're playing, Drifter, but if you hurt that boy in  **any** way, I _will_ be your end." "Easy there. Believe me, upsetting the Chosen One isn't part of my plan." "And what is?" Ikora asked, taking a full step forward to try and press the Drifter further in his little corridor. He didn't budge however.

"To uphold a promise I made Cayde before he died."

Ikora stilled. "I'm not surprised he didn't tell you, man did like to keep some secrets close to his chest." "And what is this promise he made you keep?" "To look after Liam should things go sideways when they went to the Prison of Elders. To be a place he can run to away from prying eyes." He admitted, holding down his smirk at the stunned expression the Warlock Vanguard wore was the hardest thing he's had to do in a very long time. "...Look, I get the feeling that the well-being of his fiance wasn't something Cayde was going to leave to just anyone. So, how about you trust your old friend and let me do what he asked me to do?" Ikora's eyes narrowed at his dismissive tone, but she seemed to think about something.

"If...Cayde trusted you with Liam's well-being, then I'll let you do whatever it is you're doing. But the second I find out that you have broken your promise to Cayde or have hurt Liam at all, I will have your head. Are we understood?" "Crystal." Drifter stated, a smirk on his lips, but honesty in his eyes. After a moment, Ikora nodded her head, ducked back out of the corridor, and greeted one of her students who was waiting for her return.


	4. A Gambit Gone Awry

The Drifter watched on from the Derelict, a loud cheer and smile slamming from him as Liam took out the entire opposing team and healed their Primeval back to full. The Hunter has an incredible talent of tracking down the most dangerous enemies quickly and eliminating them, making it easier on his team to collect Motes as well as not having to worry when an invader pops in. That skill goes very well with how he flows in combat: making precision kills with nearly every shot of the Ace of Spades, getting a few extra bullets every time, using his bow to take down shields--or making them explode if they were an Arc shield--so they aren't trying to chip away at an enemy's shield for too long, using his rocket launcher to clear out a crowded area.

He typically ran Blade Barrage while in Gambit, switching to his Arc or Void subclass if Drifter had a bounty that called for it. He tended to use a swarm grenade to get enemies that are in cover, use his fan of knives to quickly take out smaller or weakened enemies, and when he dodged, the Drifter could hear the click of his current gun being reloaded. He's noticed a habit when it comes to Liam's super; in the first round, he'll save it for the Primeval, but if his team melts the fucker before he can get it off, he'll pop it during the first wave of the second round.

It takes out a  _lot_ of baddies when he does and creates a lot of Motes that his team quickly picks up. If he has Motes himself, he'll usually be the first to bank once he gets 5; gets a small annoyance onto the other team's field AND lets them know that his team is already ahead. Unless he has a bounty that requires him to send a Large Blocker to the other side, he'll never carry more than 12 Motes at a time; 5 to 12 Motes is what he'll usually bank unless the Drifter's letting his team know that they can pull a Primeval and they aren't heeding his call outs. If that's the case, he'll grab whatever is needed and bank so they can start eating away at their Primeval.

This match was going as it normally does for him: won the first round, popped his super to generate a TON of Motes, and they're now gathering what was needed to summon their Primeval. Though, he does have two competent random Guardians with him this time, so he's not trying to corral them to bank their Motes by shooting at them (though that was ALWAYS entertaining to watch). They were fighting the Hive this game, which many Guardians seem to have trouble with (which is why he keeps throwing them at the Guardians who just chain Gambit matches; they need to learn how to kill them better), but not Liam and his team who once again melts their Primeval, the finishing blow being Liam's last moment Blade Barrage before the invader manages to score a kill.

"Sometimes I forget you've killed a god or two." Drifter commented as the match ended, the loot he had readily available automatically being distributed amongst the Guardians. As they all cleared out though, something flashed on his side and after a moment of silence heard,  _"Drifter?"_

Liam was still on the field.

"What the hell?" This has never happened before. Double checking his equipment, he realized that the flash on his end was the transmat misfiring, Liam now stuck on the battlefield until Drifter could fix it.

Only he may not have the time to.

Taken suddenly sprung from the cage he carefully crafted to contain them, a whole hoard appearing onto the field and surrounding Liam entirely; they were on every part of the map and he had no place to hide. To make matters worse? He just used his super to finish off the Primeval and there was no way it recharged in time. _"Shit! Drifter, do something!"_ "I'm working on it, brother. Hang on!" Drifter spoke as he frantically tried to re-code his transmat protocols and get Liam back onto the Derelict at the least.

Gunfire and curses that would make Shaxx blush filled his ears, Liam's heavy panting echoing for a moment as he managed to create himself some cover. Looking at where he was on the map though, that cover wasn't going to last long. "Fuck!" Drifter didn't have anymore time; if he kept trying to fix the transmat, Liam would be killed. Yeah, he's a Guardian with his Ghost and won't actually die, but something told Drifter that given the boy's state of mind the last two months, dying may not be the best thing for him.

He quickly dropped the barrier he put up between the teams so they didn't go and get some actual shots in before the match started and fired up his transmat protocol, stepping onto a plate on the left side, which was the side Liam's team was on.

* * *

Liam was getting worried very quickly. He no longer heard the rushed typing of keys as Drifter tried to fix whatever it was that broke, only hearing him curse before there was silence. He was running out of time. He knows he's not in the best spot cover wise, but he had no choice; it was the path of least resistance with the Taken that were there and it provided him with enough breathing room to take a few potshots at anything that got too close.

He admits though, the Emerald Coast was a beautiful place; tranquil with both the smell of the sea and the forest to wrap around him. He was hold up in the ruins, tucked as tightly behind the transmitter that called the enemy they faced that match to the area as he could get. Liam heard the calls of the Taken as they snapped and shivered closer. His lone fear, something he's never actually had before, creeps up on him just the the Taken do: the fear of death.

Now, Liam knows that he'll be okay if he dies, he still has Aiden and he can be rezzed without an issue; but if he dies now, it will be the first time since Cayde's death since he has. He's been killed countless times before out in the wild, and he's never minded being killed in Crucible matches since he knows those are his fellow Guardians landing that final blow. But here? Surrounded by enemies with the intent to kill him? If he dies here, he doubts the nightmares that keep him up at night, the ones that he wakes from screaming with Zavala or Shaxx barging into his apartment to try and calm him down, will never go away.

And then he sees it. Three Taken Wizards all firing those rapid shots of Solar energy, heading straight for him and there's nothing he could do about it. He closes his eyes and waits for his end.

...Only it never comes.

"You alright, brother?" He hears after a soft thud in front of him and his blue eyes--only visible thanks to a near fatal shot that blasted his mask off--snap open. There before him is the Drifter, spread arms lowering and Liam realized that he just casted a Ward of Dawn to protect him. "You're...a Titan?" "Heh, not exactly, brother. But we can talk later." Drifter said as he pulled the revolver out of his belt, double checking that it was fully loaded before asking, "Ready to be bad guys?" Liam only smirked, reloaded the Ace of Spades, and rolled his head around to pop his neck. "Let's go."

The Ward dropped, Liam having collected the Orbs of Light that was created and sent a massive Blade Barrage at the Taken that surrounded them, cutting down a fourth of their numbers. "Woo! Now that's what I'm taking about!" Drifter called as he rapidly killed four Taken with a single magazine of his revolver. "When were you gonna offer up that one?" Liam called, tossing a swarm grenade as the duo slid for better cover on the beach, thankfully no more Taken popping into existence. They gently bumped shoulders as Liam swapped his hand cannon for his bow, aiming down the sights quickly and scoring a headshot against a Taken Knight that was giving them grief.

"Sorry, but this one isn't for sale. One of a kind and I plan to keep it that way." Liam pouted a little at his words, getting the Drifter to laugh lightly. "No wonder Cayde had a thing for you; you're actually pretty cute when you pout." Liam was just as stunned as the Drifter when they realized what he just said. "...Why do I get the feeling you and Cayde ran together at one point?" "Cause we did?" The Drifter suggested with a shrug, both of them laughing. There was a strange familiarity in the air between them, a tension that was both odd and welcoming. The Drifter had no idea what to do about it, and it seemed that Liam didn't either.

A Taken grenade exploded nearby and the Drifter growled in the back of his throat, not noticing that the sound had Liam's cheeks turning a little pink. "Hang on, I'm gonna clean up some of this mess." He growled as he rolled out of cover, Arc energy crackling cover his body, but Liam saw something he hasn't seen in what feels like years.

The Drifter was using Arc Blade. He didn't even notice that the Drifter changed into a different subclass, let alone one that a Titan shouldn't be able to use. He watched as the Drifter Blinked into the heart of the Taken hoard they fought, using Showstopper to wipe out everything that was nearby him, using his melee--Blink Strike Liam realizes--to quickly kill a Taken Thrall and vanish. Thanks to his trained eyes, he's able to track the Drifter, but their enemies can't.  _Judging from his speed, he's most likely following the Path Forbidden and the Way of the Drifter, appropriately enough._

But then the Drifter threw a grenade; not a Skip grenade like he would expect the man to run, but a Flashbang grenade. It was a grenade Liam saw most Strikers using. He watched while, still holding his Arc Blade, the Drifter leapt into the air and with his free hand, slammed it into the ground, causing Arc energy to vaporize the Taken that was caught in the radius of the impact.

A Fist of Havoc.

One with a Shockwave modifier as a wave of enemies get flung to Liam, the Hunter quickly getting rid of them with fast shots of the Ace of Spades.  _Titan Codex I and V, I'm sure of it. With the Unstoppable modifier as well._ Cause this man has been shot a  _lot_ but he's not showing signs of slowing down at all. Liam watches as the last of the Arc energy snaps and crackles around the Drifter before he quickly Blinks back to Liam's side, ducking back behind the ship they were using as cover. "What the hell? Why could you use Fist of Havoc  _ **and**_ Arc Blade, which by the way, NONE of us Hunters have been able to use again. I thought you were a Titan!"

"I was. I'm technically a Hunter now, but it seems that I can use a couple of my old Supers, as well as a few other tricks." Liam chewed on his lower lip. The Warlock mind he has is starting to get interested in the Drifter and what he can do. "...Switch to your Solar subclass." "Yeah?" "Yeah. I'll use my Blade Barrage and that will hopefully be enough for you to use yours again." "Cause a lot of death to make more chaos. Ha! I really do like you, brother." Liam smiled as he quickly jumped on top of the ship, took a quick bow shot at a void shield to lower it and then used his Super, creating enough Orbs for Drifter to use his last one.

It was a Golden Gun. He tossed a Tripmine grenade to where a few more Taken Thralls were running out of and blew them up, tossing his throwing knife into the face of a nearby Taken, killing it instantly, and just as quickly throwing another knife.  _Way of the Sharpshooter._ Which leaves the question of which dodge he's using. Liam quickly found out as the Drifter scored three precision kills with his Golden Gun and tossed his knife only to miss. "Damn it." He jumped  _into_ the crowd of the remaining enemies and quickly dodged, throwing his knife once more.  _Gambler's Dodge. I should have known._

But with a few more knife throws and bow shots, the last of the Taken were gone and the duo were left alone on the field, panting softly. The Drifter shoved his revolver back into his belt as Liam slung his bow onto his back, his fingers grazing against the Ace of Spades that rested on his right thigh. "What the hell happened to you?" "...A lot of things. I think when we regained our Light from the Traveler, something about me switching teams didn't sit too well with my Light and it fused my old Striker and new to me Bladedancer subclasses together." "So the Golden Gun is new to you?" Drifter nodded his head with a hum.

"...I guess that explains how you dress." It was an honestly beautiful mix of Titan and Hunter armor styles with a little Warlock flare to it; it's most likely why all the Guardians Liam has played Gambit with are always guessing what his class is. "What, you don't like it? I can always just walk around naked if you think that'd be better." "NOPE! YOU'RE PERFECTLY  _FINE_ WEARING THAT!" Liam exclaimed as the Drifter started to reach for his belt, quickly turning his head with a hand over his eyes, cheeks burning with embarrassment. "Heh, relax. I'm not naked."

"I don't trust that tone with that statement." If he's learned anything from Cayde's antics, it's to never believe another Hunter when they say anything with that level of sarcastic undertone. The last time he had, he was cleaning burnt chocolate from the ceiling of his apartment; don't ask what Cayde tried to do cause Liam couldn't tell you. A hand coiled around his free wrist and raised it, pressing it against soft fabric. Liam peaked out from between his fingers and the Drifter had indeed not stripped. In fact there was a look of relief in his eyes he's never saw before in the short time he's known him.

"Drifter?" "I'm...just glad you're okay." "What the hell happened anyway?" "Transmat misfired. Everyone BUT you were sent back to their ships." "Any idea how that happened?" "No clue, but I'm gonna figure it out." Liam's body lost some of its tension as he asked, "Could I come with you? I'm pretty good with coding and fixing up machines and ships in general. Maybe I could figure out what happened." The Drifter felt himself tense up. He's never let another Guardian roam in his ship, let alone poke around in its system. "As much as I would like to dig around in there, an issue like this could cause serious trouble if it happened in another Gambit match, and if a Guardian gets hurt or even killed this way, I know that the Vanguard will be on you in seconds,  _especially_ Ikora." Well, when he puts it that way... "Alright, but NO poking at any system you don't have to. Got it?" Liam smiled brightly for the first time since they've met. "Got it."

* * *

Liam was leaning over the console that controlled the transmat protocol for the Derelict when the Drifter ran his Gambit matches, a frown forming on his lips as his brow furrowed. "With how this is programmed, that misfire never should have happened." "Positive?" Liam nodded. "You've taken great care in programming this for Gambit; any possibility of it misfiring would have been removed while you were coding it." Liam's fingers flew across the keys almost as fast as his own, the Drifter a little impressed at the speed the Hunter typed.

"...Oh... Oh crap." "What is it?" "One of the Taken Goblins must have found a way to get into your system; that's what caused the misfire." "What?!" The Drifter rushed over to Liam's side, glancing over his shoulder to look at the screen and sure enough there it was: Vex coding, trying to assimilate the Derelict into the Vex hive mind. "Can you remove it?" "Mm-hm. Just give me a few minutes and...would you be okay if I encoded a firewall into the program?" The Drifter narrowed his eyes. "And why would I let you do that?" "So the Vex can't hack into your system or ship again? I learned a lot from Osiris and Sagira about how the Vex language and coding works and I can effectively 'remove' your ship and every system and program in it out of the sight of the Vex."

"Well shit. Alright, sure, go ahead." Liam smiled again, another real smile like the one back on the Emerald Coast, and began to move his fingers at a pace that even a Bray would be envious of. "And done!" Liam stepped away from the console, proud of his work, and noticed that the Drifter was leaning against the railing, his eyes glued to him. "You know...you're special, brother. Not like the other Guardians who come through Gambit." "Yeah?" "Yeah. You're fiercer, stronger, hell maybe even a little meaner..." "And that's a good thing?" The Drifter nodded his head. "You've got a talent that I'd like to see grow. I've got my eye on you, brother."

While Liam did grin for a moment, the Drifter watched as something flashed across his face--pain, guilt,  **regret** \--before the grin dropped and his shoulders slumped with the weight of the galaxy. "What's the matter?" "...I could have save him." The Drifter cocked a brow. "Saved who?"

"Cayde."

The name slammed into the older Lightbearer like a punch to the jaw, Liam's blue eyes gleaming with tears he's fighting off so desperately. "I can do something that no one thought anyone could." "Yeah? And that is?" "I can repair Exos." ...What? "It's the truth. Echo, a close Titan friend of mine, is an Exo whom I saved back when we could go to Old Russia." "Really now?" He'll admit, he's interested in how Liam had met the Titans, Warlocks, and fellow Hunters he's seen Liam spend his free time with. "He had been damaged pretty badly after his Ghost rezzed him for the first time; I had just fixed the wrap drive for my ship when I stumbled across him, Fallen everywhere, eagerly trying to rip him apart. I saved his life, but before I could get his name, he had his Ghost transmat him away. I met him again later that day in the old Tower."

"What happened?" "He had been talking to Shaxx when I spotted him, still pretty banged up and only looked worse since I could tell he had played a few rounds of Crucible; most likely upset that he had been so easily beaten by Fallen. I caught him as he was leaving and offered to take a look at him." "Did you know that you could fix him?" "Well no, we figured that out after I had started to repair him. I had offered because, at the time, I could recall that I was good with fixing machines and things of a mechanical nature, and I hoped that I could do the same with him." "I guess you did, huh?"

The Drifter asked, trying to get Liam's mind off of Cayde-6's death. "...What about your Awoken friend? How did you meet her?" "Nis... Echo and I saved her on the Moon, surrounded by Hive, as she dangled off the edge of a dead drop. We had killed the Hive and pulled her up to solid ground, calmed her down and brought her to the Tower. She was very grateful to have two other Guardians at her side to help her." "A Hunter, Titan, and Warlock. A balanced fireteam if you guys can work together, which you three clearly can." "Yeah..."

"So what about the other fireteam I see you hanging around with a lot? The one that doesn't have a pretty lady in their group." "Oh that's Corion Ituk, Jasen 'Silverblade' Palic, and Zarall Arior." "How'd you meet them?" "We were looking for three more Guardians to form a Raid team to do the Vault of Glass and they offered to help. It's kinda interesting how they met." The small talk was working, Drifter seeing that there was less wetness in Liam's eyes. "I'd love to hear it." "Well...Zarall was the first of the three to be reborn as a Guardian. He...actually didn't leave the Tower until Jasen and Corion showed up."

"And how did those two met?" "They actually knew each other before the Collapse." Now  _that_  had the Drifter's attention. "Jasen was a genius with technology and when he had ran away from his home, found Corion in a junkyard and repaired him. Corion's been protective of Jasen as he grew up, and stayed that way as they died during the Collapse, Corion wrapped around Jasen protectively." "And they remembered each other when they were rezzed?" "I found it hard to believe too, but Corion has a rare imprinting subroutine that ensured he would stay with Jasen no matter what. It seemed their Ghosts had the same idea as they were reborn together, Jasen a hunter, Corion a Titan." Which meant Zarall was the other Warlock Liam knew.

But the fondness of good memories quickly lead to bad ones. Drifter didn't know what to do as Liam just broke down and started crying, the reaction so sudden he needed a moment to process what had even happened. "If...If I had just thought for two seconds, I could've had Aiden give me my tools. I could have started to repair him. Petra could have helped me move him to one of our ships while I kept working on him. I could've... I-I..." He's heard those kind of words before, knows that type of crying, and didn't say a thing.

He just knelt down in front of Liam and wrapped his arms around him. "W-Why?! Why did it have to be Cayde?! Why not me..? WHY NOT ME?!" "Because it's not your fault we lost Cayde." The Drifter hushed, gently rocking the man in his arms as he snared his clothes roughly, everything the poor kid's feeling devouring him without a care of the pain it's causing him. "It's not your fault, it was Uldren Sov's fault we lost him. He's the one responsible for Cayde's death, not you." "B-But I could have...I could've..!"

"You think Ikora and Zavala asked those same questions?" His words seemed to stab into Liam, but not in a bad way. "You think they wonder what they could have done?" Liam kept crying, but nodded his head. "So you know you're not alone. You're not the only one who feels this way." "B-But..!" "You were the one there with him, yes. But that is the only reason why this hurts so much more for you. They only heard about it; you were there when it happened. But what if you and Cayde had traded places in that moment? Do you think he'd feel the same as you right now?" Now that, Liam hadn't thought about.

Drifter felt as one of Liam's hands slowly made its way to the necklace he wore, his hand curling around the engagement ring that dangled against his collarbone. He was shaking pretty bad at this point, still sobbing, but his rapid breathing had shown signs of maybe slowing down. "What you're feeling will go away in time, but you have to  _give_ it time. Give yourself time to properly mourn his loss. Don't expect everything to be fixed and for you to feel better overnight. These things take time to heal." "W...Will it?" Liam pulled back a little, the Drifter seeing in full just how  _wrecked_ and  **hurt** and  ** _heartbroken_** he was. "...Yes, Liam, it will. You survived and that is the only thing I think Cayde was hoping for, the only gift he wanted to give you in that moment. You lived and that, forever, will be a  _good_ thing."

Liam's shaking started to calm, his breathing was evening out, but tears still poured from his eyes. And he let them. He didn't fight them. He openly cried in front of a man he barely knew and was just beginning to trust, and that man just pulled him back against his warm and strong body and simply held him, not saying a word, but both knowing that he didn't need to.


	5. A Different Kind Of Crucible

Lord Shaxx signed heavily. He had just finished up monitoring the last match of Survival for the night, both teams doing horribly but Alpha managing a lucky win. Walking down the silent corridor, the Titan found another standing outside of their apartment. "Shouldn't you be sleeping, Commander Zavala?" Named Vanguard snapped his head to the right before letting out a tired breath. "Normally, but..." "You've got a feeling about our little Liam, don't you?" Shaxx asked and Zavala nodded. "You've been taking care of him the last four times you've gotten this feeling; let me do it for a while." Zavala gave him a relieved but worried look. "Are you sure? Didn't you just finish up with the last match of the night?"

"I did, but I've seen more Guardians taking up Strikes and Nightfalls these last three weeks. You must be swamped with work." Shaxx spoke as he reached up and cupped Zavala's face, his thumb gently rubbing against the skin under the man's left eye. "...And you're starting to get bags under your eyes. You need sleep, Commander." "...Did... _he_ tell you how to spot that?" Zavala still had trouble saying Cayde's name at night; during the day he had no trouble, but at night? The night reminded him of the Reef, of the Prison of Elders, of the place Cayde was stolen from them all.

Zavala had just as much trouble at night as Liam did.

"Cayde did, yes. And Ikora would have your Ghost in a heartbeat if she found out you weren't getting the sleep you needed." There was a groan that hinted at the displeasure  _that_ conversation would cause. "...Alright. I know Cayde had trusted you to take care of Liam when his rage had blinded him to us, and I trust you to do the same now. Just...be careful. His Light is more powerful than any of us originally thought." Shaxx nodded his head and waited until Zavala went back into his apartment before heading to Liam's.

In truth it was actually Cayde's apartment, the Hunter Vanguard moving his newest student in with him after he found out that Liam didn't have a place to stay and had been sleeping on the streets. Though, given that the duo had been in a very long relationship and then got engaged, it would be fair to say that Cayde's apartment was Liam's from the start.

A scream, loud and sharp, reached Shaxx's ears and he bolted the rest of the way to Liam's apartment, slamming the front door against the wall. "Liam!" "...n't...no, please no! Don't...don't..!"  _The bedroom_. Shaxx quickly shut the door behind him as he stepped further into the apartment and b-lined right for the bedroom, finding Liam writhing in the bed, expression pained. "CAYDE!" "Liam! Liam, wake up!" Shaxx spoke as he grabbed onto one of Liam's shoulders and shook him. He bolted up with a scream and a crack of Void Light that slammed into Shaxx and flung him a good three feet from the bed.

Liam heard a solid thud and through his tears glanced to the floor, seeing as Lord Shaxx started to pick himself back up. "S-Shaxx... I-I'm sorry. I di-didn't mean t-to..." "Sh, Liam. It's okay. I'm alright." Shaxx spoke as he removed his helm so Liam could see his face; his chocolate and ocean eyes landed on the bright blue of Liam's and saw that a little of his fear faded away upon seeing a familiar face. Shaxx, to the shock of many people, had been extremely close to the late Hunter Vanguard, enjoying his shenanigans more openly than Ikora or Zavala and enjoying the company of someone else who chose to ignore orders when they would only hurt the current situation.

He's been in Cayde's apartment in the past many times and usually it was the only time that Shaxx would take off his helmet, showing his face to his friend; he had done this one time when Liam was there and was glad that he promised to keep what he looked like a secret. Shaxx didn't need to ask what Liam needed to calm down, quickly stripping out of his armor and the bodysuit underneath, leaving him naked with only his briefs to cover himself. Liam opened up his arms and Shaxx's sunkissed skin was quickly wrapped around him, cradling him against his muscled chest as he crawled under the sheets with Liam.

The Titan laid on his back, his left arm curled firmly around Liam's waist as his head rested on his chest, his ear over his heart so he could listen and feel it beat. Liam always loved that Shaxx was warm, loved how safe he felt in his arms. "Do you want to talk about it?" Liam shook his head, the ex-Iron Lord spotting the shine of tears forming in the Hunter's eyes again. "Sh, sh, Little Wolf. Focus on my breathing, my heartbeat, how safe you feel in my embrace; nothing else and nothing more." Shaxx softly commanded, feeling the tension that had built in Liam's back and shoulders ease up slightly.

It took a good 20 minutes, but with Shaxx's comforts and reassurances, Liam was lulled back to sleep, face peaceful once again. Shaxx felt the tinted Light from the Hive markings that littered Liam's frame reach out to him, feeling slightly uneasy at their touch, but welcoming it all the same; he knew that darkened Light was Liam's trying to find his now that he was asleep. He let their Light tangle together and felt as the veil around Liam's faded away now that they were connected, smiling into the Hunter's black hair when he relaxed further into his body. "I will keep you safe, Pathfinder, I promise."


End file.
